COVER STORY
aql: Powering a Connected Society
Comms Business Magazine visited Leeds based Communications Services Provider aql, who have delivered two
decades of innovative communication solutions that enable partners to truly differentiate and add value for
their own clients. Today aql has big ambitions, armed with a broad suite of quality products and the introduction
of a new customer success programme designed to accelerate channel growth.
aql was founded at
the beginning of the
internet boom in 1998
by Professor Adam
Beaumont, an ex-lecturer at the
University of Leeds and former
communications specialist at
the MoD. Beaumont had a
passion for creating scalable
communications services which
could be integrated with 3rd
party software solutions.
Beaumont’s focus on
building innovative, automated
systems led to early success
by providing an engine to
power customers’ go-tomarket
products, with aql now
hosting tens of millions of
phone numbers and providing
messaging and communication
services to leading banks,
retail, logistics, healthcare,
education, and the channel
market. e company’s services
are embedded in the systems
used by some of Silicon Valley’s
biggest tech success stories.
Today, aql remains solidly
mission driven, with their
products and business focused
on supporting opportunities
where technologies can enable
communities, businesses and
people to communicate and
connect better.
Managing Director Andy
Wainwright stated “aql has
evolved beyond our early
specialisms in cyber security,
to an organisation that is a
key member of the Northern
Powerhouse and a founding
member of the IXLeeds internet
exchange. With three data
centres and expanding, aql are
one of just two JISC approved
suppliers for university
colocation. As aql are in the
aql’s new client portal
position of operating our own
data centres, and running our
own IP and voice networks, we
are able to control our service
delivery end-to-end, which in
turn allows us to ensure the best
service to customers”.
“When you add to this our
heritage in two-way SMS text
messaging and in secure IoT,
supplying innovative solutions
to organisations of all sizes, it
is obvious that aql is perfectly
suited to partners seeking to
di erentiate their o erings from
the crowd.”
Portfolio & Network
aql has an extensive channel
ready portfolio of products
including voice services, data
connectivity, messaging and
colocation.
Managing Director Andy
Wainwright sees channel
bene ts across each of these
four key sectors.
“We provide SIP trunking,
numbering and porting services
to the channel market and
currently handle millions of
minutes per day, with a core
focus around simplicity and
reliability.
aql’s SIP o ering is billed on
a per second basis with no setup
fees and no monthly channel
fees - customers simply pay for
what they use. If you add to this
our high-quality, reliable and
scalable geographically-resilient
network, it means customers
can rely on our service to work.
We already provide our SIP
trunk solution to over 200
channel partners, and we’re now
ready to accelerate our growth
in this market.”
“When it comes to
Messaging, aql provides
Andy
Wainwright,
Managing
Director
22 | Comms Business Magazine | July 2019 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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